About Holly Expertise I can help you determine what kind of college would be best for you if you are having trouble deciding. I have knowledge of many of the schools in this country, as well as a good sense of what type of school fits what personality. If you tell me about yourself, what you do for fun, how you like to study, how important you rank academics, and other information like that, I can help you decide what kind of school would be best for you.
Experience I am a current college student. I am absolutely enthralled with my school, and I had many choices to pick from, and feel that I made the best choice for me. I have some friends who have transferred to different schools after their freshman year, and I know and understand some of the pitfalls of being happy at different types of schools.
Organizations Undergraduate Recruitment Committee for my school
Publications The materials distributed to prospective students at my school
Question Hello,
I am currently a high school senior trying to decide between two colleges- University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. I would like to go into music and psychology. I have been privately studying piano and saxophone for 10 years, and psychology has always been something that interested me. I have toured both colleges and absolutely cannot decide. I have never really liked the town of Eau Claire because it's too much like the town I live in right now and incredibly boring. The pros to going to Eau Claire would be that they have a renown music school, really good academics, and it's only 1/1/2 hours from home. The cons to going there would be that a great many students in my senior class will be going there next year and I would feel like I was still in high school. Also, I am the oldest one in my family and my mom wants me close to home, so I think that if I go here, my mom is going to want me home all the time. UW-Milwaukee is a really cool campus and they have a really good research school. Their dorms are awesome and the whole city is always bustling with activity. There may not be as renown of a music program there, but there are many more opportunities involving music there off campus. The pros of going here are that I think I would be tons happier and would be much more focused on my studies if I wasn't constantly surrounded by people I am close friends with. The cons are that it is 3/1/2 hours away and it would be tough to get home due to bad traffic and bad roads in the winter, and that it isn't as academically highly ranked. I'm totally at a loss of where to go, and one factor that is not helping my decision is that my boyfriend goes to a school in Milwaukee, so everyone thinks that my only reasoning for looking at UWM is because I would be closer to him. He is in no way a part of my decision and is really supportive of wherever I go. My mom is dead set on me going to UWEC. I don't know what you can say to help me, but any suggestions or advice to get me closer to a decision would be great! Thanks a ton!
Justina
Answer Hi Justina,
Thanks for writing me with these questions. Here are some pointers and tidbits that I can add. I hope that you are ultimately happy with your decision and that it works out for you. Good luck!
On the MUSIC PROGRAM:
one thing that you didn't really mention in your letter that is important is how you feel about the caliber of the music program. What I mean is, one school's music program is better than the other's, but do you think that the 2nd school's is sufficiently good? or are you worried that it won't be good enough for you or that you won't get what you need out of it?
there are schools that are better for what i'm studying than the one that i'm at, and i could have/did get into some of them. but i wasn't that happy with some of the other things there, and i knew that i would be happy with mostly everything where i am. the program for what i'm studying is good here, just not as amazing as some of the places that i could have chosen; but it is good enough for me.
so on the issue of the level of the music program, i suggest you assess how you will feel about the level of the program.
On the PEOPLE YOU KNOW THERE:
Are these students at Eau Claire ones that you are currently friends with, or are they people that you are only acquainted with? If Eau Claire is a big school, it's easy for you to not notice that some of your old high school classmates are there. Even if they are already your friends, many people create their own world in college, and you'll meet many people through classes, dorms, and activities, that you will click with. If you are worried about spending too much time with old friends, you can make an effort not too. So take into account the size of the school and remember that you don't have to spend time with existing friends at either of the schools. Of course, if the school is small you might find yourself seeing old classmates more often than you want, so this is more of a problem if EC is small than if it is big. One thing to think about is that people make friendships quickly in college because you live, eat, and study together. So even at Milwaukee, where you aren't already with close friends, you will probably make friends pretty quickly, and the amount of time you would spend with friends at UWM or at UWEC might not be that different.
On the DISTANCE
Will you have a car on campus? If not, being 1.5 hours away can seem further than it is. If you do, it may seem awfully close. If you sense that your mom would want you home more than you want to be there, this could definitely happen. What kind of relationship do you have with your mother? Can you simply tell her you want to stay on campus, or will you feel compelled to go home when she wants you to?
On HAPPINESS
so the last thing I want to say is that no matter what the academics are like, it won't do you any good if you're not happy. you won't be able to take full advantage of teh resources around you if you're not happy, so don't let anyone push you somewhere just because the program is good if you don't think you'll be happy there.
